Shade of Darkness
by Fallen Vanguard
Summary: "Tragedy is unavoidable, I know. Bad things are going to happen regardless of what I do. So what I want isn't to stop them from happening. I just want to be strong. Strong enough to fight for justice. Strong enough to never lose. Strong enough to protect everyone I love. If I can't stop tragedy, then let me be strong enough to fight it when it comes"


**I do not own Pokemon, Game Freak and Nintendo do. I merely own the plot and characters.**

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><p>Autumn was always my favorite season. The air was nice and crisp; such a relief from the hot summer, but it hadn't reached that deadly chill of winter yet. Spring had a similar balance but it just wasn't the same, and besides I liked the colours of the autumn leaves. Such vibrant yellows, browns…<p>

And red: the colour of my eyes.

In fact seeing the leaves of the forest take on this colour excited me to the point where I couldn't sleep. For the past five days I had been up at the crack of dawn and ready to watch the sunrise, eager to see if any of the leaves had begun to turn. Every day the sun would creep up above the horizon and bathe the forest with its golden light, a sight that would be relieving to most. But me? I was just disappointed that the leaves were still green.

So I was up once again with nothing but a dark sky above me. It was the sixth day since this pattern began. Slowly I turned my head to the side and saw that my parents were still cuddled up next to me. They were sound asleep.

With a quiet stretch I got to my feet and began the small trek up the grassy hill.

My home was a clearing in the midst of a forest, with a small river that ran through it and a hill at the center. It was only from the top of the hill that I could get a decent view of the trees around me without wandering into the forest; a good thing, too, since my parents didn't like me going out if the sun wasn't up.

Once I made it to the top of the hill I sat down and crossed my legs. A yawn forced its way out and I brought a paw to my mouth to stifle the noise. I didn't want to wake my parents up and they had excellent hearing, so I had to be cautious.

I also had to fight the urge to nod off again. At least until the sun rose.

"So, how long has this been going on?" I blinked and nearly yelped in alarm, but when I turned around I only saw a familiar sight; a tall (at least compared to me) bipedal Pokémon with blue furred thighs, arms, and head. Yellow fur covered his chest, which was somewhat thicker than the blue fur rest, while his lower legs and paws were a smooth black.

He was my father: a lucario. The form that my species, riolu, evolves into.

"Uh…like, almost a week." I replied, unable to keep a slight frown off my face. The past five days had gone off without a hitch but this time it went wrong in less than five minutes. I wasn't necessarily mad, just a bit upset I couldn't keep the streak going, "Just watching the sunset,"

"For the leaves, right?" I nodded and my father chuckled. He took a seat beside me and crossed his legs just as I had, "I have never seen a non-grass type so obsessed with the autumn leaves,"

A blush formed on my face and I crossed my arms in a pout, "I just like the colours, okay? It's not weird or anything."

"Never said it was," My father said, still chuckling in amusement. I didn't hold my pout very long in favour of watching the eastern horizon. There was an orange and pink light in the sky to the east and the blackness above me had lightened to a dark blue, "Did you want me to leave you to this?"

"Huh?" I glanced at my father briefly before looking once again at the horizon, "No, I don't mind. I just really hope the leaves have started to change!"

My father gave me a strange look. There was a smile on his mouth, but the twinkling in his eyes was something I hadn't seen before. I didn't linger on it too much longer, though, instead frowning and squirming as he firmly rubbed my head with his paw.

"Thank you, son."

"D-dad! Cut it-" My father hushed me before I could whine anymore and pointed out towards the horizon. I followed his paw and grinned to see that the sun had risen even higher and my eyes immediately went to the trees. I could only see a dark green, but with more light there was chance I'd be able to see more. So I waited in silence, my father just as quiet and still as I was.

But as minutes passed us by, and light flooded landscape of Sinnoh, it became disappointingly clear that not a single leaf had changed. The trees around us were still the vibrant green they had gain this past spring.

"Damn it." I winced as soon as the words left my mouth. In my disappointment I had forgotten the golden rule of not cursing around my parents. My eyes went to my father and I expected to get chewed out, but to my surprise my father was wearing a small smile.

"No luck it seems…but you can't really tell if there are any autumn leaves just from here," He stated. I wanted to defend that the hill gave me a pretty good view but even then I knew I couldn't see every leaf in detail, "How about you search around the forest a bit today, after breakfast. Maybe you'll still have a shot of finding a changed leaf."

At the time I doubted that the day would be any different from the past five days but even then my father's words managed to ignite a spark of hope in me. A lips curled into a small smile and I gave him a nod.

"All right," I paused as an idea took form in my mind: one that made me grin, "And if I do find one I'll bring it back to show you!"

My father smirked and chuckled. "Atta boy," He said as he rubbed my head again, eliciting more protesting whines out of me.

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><p>Breakfast was quiet and peaceful, for the most part. Mom had gone around and collected an assortment of berries as she usually did. It was rare we had meat or a different kind of fruit in the morning since they were harder to come by, while berries were plentiful around our clearing. I never really minded that they were so regular since they tasted good.<p>

When I told mom about father's idea she didn't seem to mind it too much. "Don't stray too far, and don't go west or east into the forest,"

To the east of us was a small human settlement, mostly farmers and not too many trainers, but mom said you could never take chances with humans. To the west was a massive human city filled with passing trainers and even some sort of training leader, "A Gym Leader," Mom had corrected.

Since I didn't want to run into any humans, especially trainers, I had north and south to pick from safely. I decided that I'd explore the northern parts of the forest in the end, but there wasn't much of a reason for the choice. The leaves were the only things that I cared about.

So as I padded along the forest floor I kept my gaze up high to scout for any changed leaves. I was still mindful of how far into the forest I wandered, but even more mindful of the colour of the leaves. Those beautiful reds and browns were sprouting somewhere in the forest!

Unfortunately I found myself in the same situation as earlier that morning. As I walked and searched my hopes slowly died. Every single tree cloaked in their usual green leaves.

Well, _almost_ every tree.

My eyes widened in awe as I finally brought my march to a halt. I stared straight up at the tree before me, for on its branches hung several reddish-green leaves. Autumn really was here! The sight made me grin and I darted right up close to the tree.

The tree was too tall to climb but I knew that autumn leaves could be knocked off easier than regular leaves. I took a breath and brought back a paw. It took a lot of concentration and energy, but I knew at least one move that had a shot knocking the leaves free.

Energy slowly built up in my right paw and it took on a light blue glow. It was finicky energy that would dissipate if I got too wound up, so I did everything I could to keep my breathing even. I closed my eyes and envisioned a single red leaf just twirling in blackness. The leaf was the world, the leaf was me…

"H-help!" A shout interrupted me. Just like that the leaf was swept away into the dark.

The energy I had collected in my paw slipped away and I frowned at the distraction. It took me a few seconds to realize that it hadn't _just_ been a interruption but a cry for help.

"Somebody! P-please!" There was nothing but horror and desperation in it's voice, and the intensity was such that it sent a shiver through my spine. I wanted to just leave, even without the leaf, and pretend that I hadn't heard anything. It wasn't like the person in question had seen me or even heard me, they were just calling out. Someone else would save them. Someone older and stronger...right?

No…no that was wrong. My parents warned me to stay out of danger, but when I went on walks with them they would do little things to help our neighbours, like knock down fruit for Pokémon too weak or small to reach it themselves. They would want to help this person too, right?

Regardless of my fears and reservations a third cry was enough to spur me into action. It was the right thing to do and…admittedly, I was curious. Nothing big ever really happened around my home, so nobody ever had to call for help before. At least not that I had heard or seen.

I followed the sound of the voice to the east and made my way between the trees and tall grass. My heart was beating wildly and my arms actually shook with nervousness, but still I went on through the forest, parting bushes with my shaky paws. Branches scratched ever so lightly across my fur and flesh before I finally made it to a small clearing.

At first I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't until I looked around the area a bit before I spotted where, and who, the source of the voice was.

At least five feet above me was an unfamiliar Pokémon. It was a bug type, for sure, but it wasn't like the common wurmple or burmy. It had a long red body and four long, thin wings. Its black legs squirmed as the bug type thrashed seemingly in mid-air, which both startled and confused me.

"U-uh, hello? What are you doing?" I asked, curiosity trumping fear once again. The bug type looked down at me, noticing me for the first time in its panic, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank Celebi!" the insect practically shouted. Both it and I winced at the bug's volume, and he spoke again in a whisper, "You can't see it, can you? I'm caught in a web,"

The moment he said web my eyes widened. I focused on the space around him and I managed to catch a glimpse of one thread, so thin and white that it appeared transparent. It was similar to the string that wurmple would spew in self-defense, but wurmple string was rather weak. This insect, despite being fairly large, was struggling fiercely but couldn't seem to break free even a bit.

"Oh…" I honestly didn't know how to reply to that. If he was caught in a web then that meant he was probably prey for something else. Wasn't it wrong to steal food from another Pokémon?

"So quick, before it comes, try to knock the web loose!"

No, it wasn't wrong. If I was going to get eaten by another Pokémon I'd want someone to save me too.

"O-okay," Thankfully the web wasn't hung to high above me. I could jump up and try to swat the webbing away with my paws, so I took a breath and jumped as high as I could to do so. Once it was in range I swiped my paw as hard as I could at the thin threads. Instead of cutting through them, however, my paw simply stuck to the webbing

"Wh-wha?!" I cried out in shock.

"Oh crap…" The bug type cursed as he stared at me in horror. I grabbed my stuck paw with my free one and tried to tug and struggle, but I barely made any progress. No wonder the red bug couldn't break free: the threads were so sticky it was like it became a part of you.

Or you became a part of it.

I only panicked more at that thought, frantically whispering to my fellow captive, "What do I do?!"

"If I knew that I wouldn't be here in the first place!" The bug type hissed back at me, "Just try to keep…" I watched his face pale as he trailed off. The bug's green eyes focused above us and, slowly, I followed his gaze.

When I saw the un-blinking dark purple eyes my blood ran cold. They were the large eyes of another red bug type, though this one stood on the webbing as if it were solid ground with its four yellow legs. It had two white tusk-like mandibles and a matching horn on its head along with deep black markings along its body.

"Well…isn't this interesting?" The red arachnid's tusks clicked as it spoke, "A fly and a jackal pup. Both of you are far from my normal meals,"

"_Meals?" _I thought to myself in panic. The horned spider actually planned on eating me?!

"Try not to struggle," the spider cooed as she crawled towards me, "That will only make this more painful,"

I let out a fearful whine and tugged more. The other insect did nothing as the spider slowly closed in, inch by inch, before she was so close that I could see the pale green venom that dripped from her fangs. I wanted to plead for my life and beg for her to let me live.

"P-p-p…" I couldn't even speak. My throat had run dry at the image of her tusk-like fangs digging into my neck.

The image of being _eaten_.

My stomach churned and my nerves practically ignited at the ends. It took everything bit of restraint I had left not to thrash around and get the rest of my body stuck. Instead I just pulled even harder on my arm. It was faint but I could hear the sound of my fur tearing away from the webbing.

"I told you not to struggle," she breathed, "But then again, when do they ever listen?" Then she touched her fangs to my arm and immediately I found my voice in the form of a scream.

Yet a much louder noise drowned me out: a disturbingly high-pitched buzzing. The sound was so disturbing that the spider pokemon backpedaled up her web in alarm. I brought my free paw to an ear and covered it in the hopes of dulling the noise but with little success, eyes searching desperately for the source of the sound.

"Get ready to run!" I barely heard the yanma shout over the buzzing. The wind whipped up by the yanma's wings was so strong that the entire web began to shake, and I could feel its hold on my arm loosening. In seconds I was at last able to pull myself free, and I feel to the ground with a yell.

"Insolent creatures!" The spider hissed, also falling from her web. The yanma took to the air, his vibrations having torn the web to shreds, and he swung down towards me. I reached for his legs in the hopes that he would take me, but the ariados pounced on me with a cry of pure rage, "You're not escaping me!"

"No! Get off!" I screamed, writing underneath her body. It was no avail; she had pinned my arms with her legs. When I tried to kick at her body she brought her tusks right above my neck. I could feel warm fluid drip from them onto my fur, "I said get off!"

"This could have been painless, you mutt. This could have been quick!" She screeched, her larger purple eyes wider than ever, "But you fools had to resist, like the gnats you are!"

I could see the yanma in the corner of my eye. He hovered above us, a look of terror on his face. I wanted to scream for him to help, but she'd probably bite my throat if I made any more noise, and he was too afraid to come near.

I was going to die. I was going to die and get eaten, just like that.

Was I really?

Why?

"_I don't...I don't want this...I don't wanna die," _My thoughts ran rampant, and my whole body was ablaze. Even though I felt nothing but fear I couldn't help but keep writhing. I couldn't stand the helplessness of it all. _"I wanna live, live, livelivelivelive. I want to LIVE!"_

I could feel her fangs on my neck and light filled my vision.

"Mom! Dad! Help! Please!" And then-!

Nothing.

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><p><strong>Welcome, one and all, to Shade of Darkness<strong>


End file.
